Perry A
- Research Program Mentor
Industry expert at Harvard University
Expertise
AI ethics, political science, international relations, historical linguistics, economics, law, data analytics, creative writing, the Middle East, history, algorithmic fairness, civil rights
Bio
I was born and raised in Minnesota, where high school speech and debate initially ignited my interest in political science. I finished my Harvard undergraduate degree in government with a secondary focus in economics in 2019. I just wrapped up a two-year position as a paralegal at a Washington, DC civil rights law firm. Additionally, I just graduated with a Columbia Engineering certificate in data analytics, which was my quarantine project. I’m now spending this summer writing a novel based on my dad’s upbringing as a Kurd in Iraq and am looking forward to applying to JD/Ph.D. programs in the fall. I’m interested in pretty much everything, which is both a blessing and a curse! My academic and professional career so far has focused on political science, international relations (with a focus on the Middle East and China), the American legal system, data analytics, economics, and writing. However, I’ve always said if I could live a second life, I would love to be an academic linguist. Linguistics, in particular historical linguistics and Indo-European languages, are among my greatest guilty pleasures. I am also obsessed with history and you’re likely to find me reading history books when I get the free time. I also love learning languages and have spent many years studying French and Spanish. I also have spent a few years studying Mandarin Chinese and Sorani Kurdish, but am currently trying to get out of my baby talk stage in both languages! Latin hangs on the horizon as my future linguistic conquest if I ever get the time. If you want to see my online portfolio with all the things I’ve done, you can check it out here! https://www.perryabdulkadir.me/Project ideas
Building a Data Analytics Dashboard or Portfolio
Prerequisites: AP Statistics or equivalent, an interest in a social science question you want to ask Do you want to analyze your home state’s mortgage data to map out racial discrimination in housing opportunities? Have you ever wondered if a nation’s military spending can predict its success in fighting an insurgency? Do speakers of minority languages across the world have lower standards of living than speakers of majority languages? If you have ever had a burning question about a social science question of any type, I would love to work with you to build a data analytics dashboard or portfolio. If you are interested in the concept but don’t have a topic in mind, I’d love to work with you to find one! This project includes a few phases. First, we must outline your question and figure out the exact parameters of what you’re asking. Then, we have to find data. If we’re lucky, someone may have already collected a dataset. If not, we can think of ways to do our own primary data collection. Then, we will clean and analyze the data. If you only have experience with Excel, that’s okay! Excel can be a powerful tool. If you have experience with Python or R, or are interested in learning some of these coding languages, we can also use these tools for data cleaning and analysis. Finally, we will produce a dashboard or portfolio to visually tell a story with the results of your analysis. We can accomplish this using Excel, Python, R, and Tableau. If you don’t have experience with one of these tools but would like to use them, I would be more than happy to help!
Writing a Long-Form Journalistic Piece or a Nonfiction Narrative
If you have ever wanted to do a deep dive into a current events issue you’re passionate about, I would love to help you get to the point where you can publish a long-form article (approximately 5,000-10,000 words). Alternatively, if you’re interested in writing a historical non-fiction narrative (5,000-15,000 words), I would be happy to guide you. I spent years as a writer and editor at the Harvard Political Review, so I know how to edit journalistic pieces and provide feedback as you go. A core function of my job as a paralegal was editing and copy editing legal documents, so I can go over your drafts with an eye to detail.
AI Ethics/Algorithmic Fairness Analysis
Algorithms, particularly those driven by AI, are increasingly affecting our daily lives. Unfortunately, these algorithms sometimes perpetuate existing discrimination. You don't need to look far for examples; in the last few years, there have been exposes on everything from racially discriminatory models used by courts to assign parole, to resume reading models that place a lower value on degrees earned at women's colleges. Are you interested in exposing and fighting against this new frontier of discrimination? In this project, you will conduct research in AI ethics. Depending on your interests, we can focus on a particular model that has shown up in the news, research new examples of algorithmic discrimination, build data visualizations, and research the philosophical underpinnings of AI ethics.